Maricopa County Attorney Bans Apple iPhones

The Maricopa County Attorney’s office is hanging up on Apple iPhones. A spokesman for Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery says its office will no longer provide iPhones as an option for replacement or upgrade for employees. “Apple’s refusal to cooperate with a legitimate law enforcement

investigation to unlock a phone used by terrorists puts Apple on the side of terrorists instead of on the side of public safety,” Montgomery said. “Positioning their refusal to cooperate as having anything to do with privacy interests is a corporate PR stunt and ignores the 4th Amendment protections afforded by our Constitution.”

A judge ruled that Apple must help FBI agents unlock terrorist Syed Farook’s iPhone by disabling a feature that will lock them out after ten unsuccessful tries. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 and wounded 20 in a terrorist attack on December 20. The two were killed in a shootout hours later.

According to Montgomery, prosecutors routinely seek search warrants to unlock encrypted smartphones. Montgomery characterized the current impasse as deliberate indifference on the part of Apple. “Apple is proving indifferent to the need for evidence to hold people accountable who have harmed or intend to harm fellow citizens.”